Apple is working on a cheaper and smaller iPad that will look like a big iPod touch, according to mockups from 9to5Mac. The 7-inch iPad reportedly would be thinner and lighter than the 9.7-inch iPad and won't have the thick bezel surrounding all four sides of the full-sized model. Targeted to compete with the $199 budget tablets like the Amazon Kindle Fire and the Google Nexus 7, the iPad mini might not have rear and front cameras and 4G LTE connectivity in order to keep the cost of the device low.
What Else You Need To Know:
- The iPad mini won't likely be launched before iPhone 5, which is rumored for a September release.
- Apple generates hype about upcoming products by not commenting on rumors.
Other sources
With a smaller bezel, wandering fingers could potentially trigger the touchscreen.- Adam Mills, GottaBeMobile
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iPad mini details all but confirmed as launch nears
9to5Mac writes that the iPad mini’s design gives it “a similar ‘purse-able,’ ‘big pocket-able’ form factor except with a much larger 4:3 display.”
- Chip Chick
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Is This How The iPad Mini Will End Up Looking?
With any luck, Apple will finally announce the iPad mini by this time next month, putting an end to all the rumors surrounding the production of the tablet
- GottaBeMobile
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iPad Mini Rumors: iPod Touch Design, 4G LTE
The lack of a bezel would make it easier to hold from the back but it will make it a bit more difficult to hold when in portrait mode. With a smaller bezel, wandering fingers could potentially trigger the touchscreen.
- Android Central
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iPad mini won't be much smaller, but will be a lot narrower, thinner, and lighter
The Google Nexus 7 is arguably closer to a big iPod touch than this device. This device is a small iPad, and that's a tremendous difference. It allows for that higher class of apps that Steve Jobs talked about, the ones that don't work at 7.0-inches as scaled-up smartphone apps.
- IntoMobile
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Two new reports detail the lighter, thinner design of the iPad mini
As for the launch of the device, 9to5 mac predicts that the iPad mini will ship after the new iPhone, but still in time for the holidays.